Universal Media
Element Library (UMEL) Overview

"The Web3D Consortium's Universal Media Working Group was established in June of 1997
with a charter to increase the realism of Web3D worlds and decrease network downloads by
defining a small, cross-platform library of locally resident media elements (textures,
sounds and 3D objects) together with the mechanism by which content creators can incorporate
these media elements into their worlds.

Universal Media increases the realism of online
Web3D worlds (VRML, Java 3D, and other online 3D technologies) and decreases
network downloads by defining a small, cross-platform library of locally
resident media elements (textures, sounds and 3D objects) and a uniform resource
name (URN) mechanism by which Web3D content creators can incorporate these media
elements into their worlds. Universal Media allows content authors to create
media-rich worlds that can be instantly loaded over even the slowest dial-up
modem Internet connections. Content created using Universal Media loads, on
average, 20 to 50 times faster then it would otherwise.

Specifically, the Web3D Consortium's Universal Media Working Group
defined cross-platform media libraries comprised of textures that reside
on the client (end user computer
systems). Universal Media is distributed freely through the Web3D Consortium. At
the time of this writing version 1.0 of the Textures library ("Textures 1.0")
was scheduled for immediate release, while sounds and 3D objects were scheduled
for later release.

Because Universal Media is stored on the user's hard drive (or
other local storage), content authors can use Universal Media just as they do
"local" resources, without concern for downloading each media element over a
network connection.

In this respect, Universal Media can be thought of as a locally
resident suite of 3D media primitives, or media building blocks, that enable
Web3D content developers to construct realistic looking and sounding worlds
without the penalty of network transfers typically associated with media-rich
worlds. And, since the media elements that will ultimately make up the Universal
Media are expected to be of extremely high quality, Web3D content developers
will be able to build compelling worlds in considerably less time and at an
overall lower cost than if they were to create such media themselves.

Compared to Fonts

Universal Media is to Web3D worlds what fonts are to plain
text documents: Authors can greatly enhance their work with very little
effort by using professionally developed elements designed to increase the
appeal of their documents. Similar to fonts, Universal Media resides
locally on end user systems, eliminating the need for media to be
distributed along with the 3D world. As a result, authors can incorporate
any number of textures, sounds and 3D objects into their worlds without
increasing the time it takes the world to download -- only the world
definition itself (.wrl files) is sent over the wire, while media is
retrieved from the user's local hard drive.

The Universal Media system works in a similar
fashion to that of fonts. A library of commonly used textures, sounds and
3D objects is installed on end user systems, allowing authors to reference
any number of these elements in their worlds without concern for file
sizes and download restrictions. Since the Universal Media resides on the
end user's hard drive, only the 3D world itself (and any custom media
elements it requires) is downloaded over the network. Universal Media
savvy tools and browsers realize that references to Universal Media
elements are actually references to locally resident media, and so load
the appropriate media elements from the user's local hard drive rather
than attempting to download them over the network.

NOTE: Properly
constructed Universal Media worlds are backwards compatible with standard
VRML browsers. Universal Media can therefore be used without
concern for browser support of URNs or Universal Media.

Media Primitives

Universal Media can be thought of as a locally
resident suite of 3D media primitives, or professional media building
blocks, that enable content developers to construct realistic looking and
sounding worlds without the penalty of network transfers typically
associated with such worlds. Since the media elements that make up the
Universal Media are of extremely high quality, authors can build
compelling worlds in considerably less time and at an overall lower cost
than if they were to create such media themselves.

Although the positive impact Universal Media
has on network traffic may be immediately apparent, bandwidth efficient,
rapid access to media-rich 3D worlds is only one of the many benefits the
system offers to authors and software vendors. Authors can substantially
increase the appeal of their worlds using Universal Media's professional,
pre made content, while browser and tool vendors are able to increase the
value of their products by making them Universal Media savvy with very
little effort.

NOTE: Properly
constructed Universal Media worlds are backwards compatible with standard
VRML browsers. Universal Media can therefore be used without
concern for browser support of URNs or Universal Media.

Industry BUZZZZZZZ: What The Experts Are
Saying

"Universal Media promises to allow us
to spend our time exploring online worlds, rather than waiting for
them to download."

Mitra, Universal Media Technical AdvisorMitra Internet Consulting

"Universal Media is one more brick in
a growing foundation as VRML supports the creation of a useful
cyberspace."

Sandy Ressler

"Whether the Next Big Thing in multimedia is a
descendent of VRML or ChromeEffects or something yet glimmering in the corner of
a lab, it'll live or die depending on whether the content can be downloaded
within a 7th grader's attention span. Universal Media is completely
unspectacular and completely necessary. It's the sesame seed bun that's going to make all the difference to
the next Internet Big Mac."

Bob CrispenThe Boeing Company

"Building the Universal Media library can
provide a great leap forward. Why? Most technical folks understand that the core
challenge in all Web technology is scalability. But remember: you turn the
corner towards true scalability when things get easy, not when they're
difficult. If Universal Media succeeds, compelling 3D graphics content with great multimedia sounds &
imagery can scale up and show up everywhere. Send in your best nuggets to Universal Media; let's build the
world's greatest content palette."

"Universal Media is what most perfectly resembles a paintbrush and color
paints, bringing to life the
outlined sketch on the canvas, all becoming the great work, from which colors
and sound emerge, turning Web3D into
the symphony of Art and Science."

Gerardo Quintieri3D CG
Artist/Animator

"Universal Media saves oodles
of time compared to hunting for content out on
the web. And versus creating content from scratch...
Don't get me started!"

Mike Wren PSW Technologies

Those who control the past, control the future;
Those who control the future, control the present;
Those who control the present, control the past. ~George Orwell